Karoly again sues Bethlehem police over alleged excessive force

Mayor backs officers. Lawyer says they abused paralyzed man.

July 11, 2007|By Nicole Radzievich Of The Morning Call

Lawyer John P. Karoly Jr., who won a $7.89 million federal court case against Bethlehem three years ago, has filed another civil rights lawsuit against city police, claiming they used excessive force against a paralyzed man during a traffic stop.

But city officials say the plaintiff -- who now sits in Northampton County Prison on an unrelated attempted homicide charge -- has no case and are asking that a federal judge toss out most of the claims.

"We are backing our officers 100 percent," Mayor John Callahan said. "It's unfortunate but indicative of the times we live in, that if you have a police department, you're going to get sued."

A status conference is scheduled for Friday at U.S. District Court in Reading.

Karoly is seeking a total of more than $150,000 on 15 claims that include excessive force, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, assault and battery.

The suit stems from an April 5, 2005, traffic stop not far from where plaintiff Reynaldo Lopez, then 32, had lived on Marvine Street. A police officer determined that Lopez, who has had to use a wheelchair since he was 14, was driving with a suspended license.

The suit, filed April 5, gives this account of what happened next:

After pulling over, Lopez got out of his car into his wheelchair, and officer Patrick Maczko screamed at him to get back in the car. Lopez told the officer, "Just give me a ticket."

Maczko grabbed the wheelchair, pushing Lopez onto the ground and jumped on him. Another officer, identified in the suit as officer Freed, "began pummeling" Lopez on the arm and shoulder with a large flashlight. Maczko grabbed Lopez by the throat, handcuffed him and tried to force him to walk.

A witness told the officer Lopez couldn't walk, but Maczko said he "is gonna walk today" and dragged him 50 feet to a patrol car. Other officers, identified only as Landi and Ripper, arrived but did not stop the "brutal assault."

At the station, an officer identified only as Sgt. Ripper called for an ambulance, and Lopez was treated for arm and head injuries at St. Luke's Hospital-Fountain Hill.

A district judge dismissed the aggravated assault charge, and Lopez eventually pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and driving with a suspended license.

Deputy Police Commissioner Stuart Bedics said he could not respond to specifics because of the litigation, but said the officers did nothing wrong. "I reviewed the facts of this case, and I believe our officers acted reasonably," he said.

Karoly, of South Whitehall Township, did not return a phone call Tuesday seeking a comment.

In court documents, city attorneys used Lopez's guilty plea as the basis for an argument to throw out the malicious prosecution and false imprisonment claims. The plea agreement, the attorneys argue, shows the officers had a reason to detain Lopez.

On June 4, Bethlehem police arrested Lopez after he allegedly fired shots at a 40-year-old man in the 1300 block of Fritz Drive. He was sent to the county prison under $250,000 bail.

Lopez's suit comes a decade after Bethlehem police shot and killed drug-dealing suspect John Hirko Jr. in a raid on his South Side home. Karoly sued the city for $905 million on behalf of Hirko's family, fiancee and landlord, claiming the police used excessive force. In 2004, a jury found the city liable.

Before the case entered the penalty phase, Bethlehem agreed to settle it for $7.89 million -- the largest award against a Lehigh Valley police department ever -- and for police reforms.

The Police Department is now about to become certified by the Commission Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies.